A diferent kind of knife......

J

JimmyJimenez

Joined
Sep 30, 2005
Messages
580
Oops, sorry for the incorrect spelling,.......... it should have read "different", not "diferent".

Anyhow, I have acquired an antique, intrically hand carved, wood paper knife (or letter opener, for those who prefer that term).

I would guess it to be a Victorian era made item. It has some age induced fractures and some minor chips, but it's in original shape, having no repairs at all. It's a very nice representation of someone's hand craftsmanship.
My other guess would be that it was made in a location with strong Hindu religion influence (maybe Bali, Napal, or India?).

Anyhows, here are some photos, and if anyone here has any info they may be able to share with me about this item, I would greatly appreciate it :)

*Each photo can be enlarged by clicking onto each one's right bottom corner.

Section of handle depicting what appears to be some sort of wild cat and a wild bird:
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/514/dscn1434qw1.jpg


Section of handle depicting a domesticated raised trunk elephant:
http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/7179/dscn1438he7.jpg


Section of handle depicting a man in the process of shooting the cat shown in the first photo:
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/6339/dscn1439mz8.jpg


Section of handle depicting a peacock, a squirrel (which is difficult to make out in this photo), and the rear end of the elephant:
http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/4440/dscn1440qj8.jpg


Full length shot:
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/2641/dscn1446hq5.jpg


Butt end of handle:
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/6932/dscn1452sj8.jpg
 
Its lovely Jimmy, It looks classic Burmese style work to me.

The Dha collectors on Ethnographic arms could probably pin it down exactly.

Spiral
 
Kevin the grey said:
Jimmy wherever it ends up being from there is some excellent carving on there .
Click to expand...

Thanks Kevin! I thought so too, and it's why I just had to have it :)

It's not like I collect letter openers, but even if it had been a toilet brush, and if it was this nicely hand-carved, I would have purchased it :)
 
spiraltwista said:
Its lovely Jimmy, It looks classic Burmese style work to me.

The Dha collectors on Ethnographic arms could probably pin it down exactly.

Spiral
Click to expand...

Thanks Spiral, and thanks for the advice :)
 
Hey Jimmy. Sweet knife. You been OK? Haven't seen you around.
 
Thanks for the comment about the paper knife :)

Also, thanks for asking about my well being,.............. yes, all is fine.

I'm constantly moving on to other topics, usually taking some time to back-track to previous interests. That's why I have not been around.

Thanks again, Andy :)
 
huugh said:
What about trying Bernard Levine forum?
Click to expand...

Not familiar with that forum, but I'll look it up thanks :)

Only problem with going to different forums, like the Ethnographic arms forum, is that if one is not a registered member, one will have to sign up a-new. Though I like to be a part of different forums, I don't want to register to any new ones at this point in time, so I'm hoping to get help from my current crop of forum listings (ones that I'm already a member of).

I'll check out the Bernard Levin forum :)
 
Stunning carving! I have a set of chess pieces that somewhat approaches that level of carving detail, but nothing like that on a knife handle. Beautiful work, and very good pics.

Thanks,

Norm
 
Svashtar said:
Stunning carving! I have a set of chess pieces that somewhat approaches that level of carving detail, but nothing like that on a knife handle. Beautiful work, and very good pics.

Thanks,

Norm
Click to expand...

That sounds neat. I would love to see photos of your chess pieces :)
 
Bernard Levine was able to shed a bit of info on this subject for me:

"It is a paper knife, not a letter opener. Very nice carving.

I don't know the origin, except that it is probably South Asian. This style of paper knife seems to have gone out of use in the West around 1900, replaced by pointier styles that could double as letter openers, but this round end style might have continued longer in the East."

I must admit, it's a whole lot more then I already knew about paper knives & letter openers (which was about equal to nothing) ;)

While searching the web, I ran accross the following info on paper knives:

Paper knives do much more than just cut paper or open envelopes. Some were tailor made to fold letters ... mark a place in a book ... remove an old-fashioned wax seal (or the lesser-known 'wafer seal'). Some could even help a wealthy gentleman read his newspaper in a stress-free manner. In the late Victorian era broadsheet papers were sometimes delivered folded but 'uncut'. It was a surefire way to stop servants grabbing a sneak preview! Newspaper knives can be the size of a child's cricket bat. Other large paper knives had a more sober purpose, however. These were Bible page turners, or for reading from the Koran, as it is forbidden to use fingers to touch the pages. To really get to grips with paper knives, a little postal history is called for. Prior to 1840 postage rates were a complex calculation that combined the weight of the letter, distance from the post office to the recipient, and the number of bits of paper in the letter.Lightweight "letter sheets - a sheet of paper folded into three, with the ends tucked in - became popular. These would be sealed with a small gummed disk known as a wafer seal, or with glossy red sealing wax. A mid-Victorian letter writer needed a paper knife with a smooth, rounded handle or blade, to fold the letter neatly. These were typically wood, bone, amber or ivory. The recipient needed a paper knife with a neat, sharp end to prise off the wax or cut round the paper seal. Patent gum appeared in c1850 and paper knives became more stiletto-like, to slice envelopes open cleanly.

The bookmark knife has an even earlier lineage. Before about 1820 books were published in printed, folded sheets which the bookseller would bind to order. A customer might order books cut "on the plough". Here, the book was held tight in a vice, spine down, and a sharp knife used to plane the page edges into a smooth crescent shape. Alternatively, a book-buyers might specify "uncut". Curiously, the rough "deckle" edge left when each pair of pages was sliced open with a small knife by the first reader was considered the height of good taste. Paper knives for opening book pages sometimes come with a lipped device by the handle, so they may also be used as bookmarks. One familiar example comes in the form of a tiny trowel, sometimes boasting a silver blade set in a bone or agate handle. Most paper knives cost under £20 ($35), unless boosted closer to £50 ($75) by silver content or desirable decoration, such as Tunbridge Ware or Tartan Ware, or commemorative transfer printing. Starter paper knives include hand-carved wooden examples, where the carving recalls the foliage of the tree from which the knife was fashioned. Look for oak, sandalwood, and oddities like edelweiss.

Well whatduya know, we are now on our way to being paper knife savy ;)
 
Nasty said:
Those things are never properly hardened...

;)
Click to expand...

he can always try an etch in FeCl to bring out the temper in the wood - a spell on dan's belt sander will make it scary hair poppin sharp in no time, dan can sharpen anything!
 
letter openers before. I got one made from Myrtle on a trip to Coos Bay this spring. Seen some really nice victorian era ones carved from bog oak.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top